MIAMI (AP) -- Slumped at his locker, moments after Miami's season ended in a Game 7 loss to Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals, Shaquille O'Neal was looking toward the future.
``Next year,'' said the Heat center, his tone barely above a whisper, ``we've got to start from square one.''
He had no idea how prophetic he was. In many respects, when training camp opens Tuesday, Miami will be starting over.
Gone are two starters from last season's 59-win club -- Eddie Jones was traded to Memphis; Damon Jones signed with Cleveland as a free agent. In their place are four legitimate starting candidates, whom Miami acquired without sending payroll skyrocketing or losing either of its superstars, O'Neal or Dwyane Wade.
Hovering over much of the offseason were the persistent -- and apparently unfounded -- rumors that team president Pat Riley was poised to fire his former longtime assistant, Stan Van Gundy, and return to coaching.
Now, it's time for Miami to put the new pieces together.
``We know we can win,'' Wade said. ``That's what we're all here for. ... This is my third year here and it's like it's my third different team, but we can win.''
Expectations may be higher than ever for the Heat as they pursue their first NBA title.
O'Neal -- who signed a $100 million, five-year deal this summer -- promises that Miami will advance further than it did last year, which would mean at least reaching the Finals. Wade made a meteoric rise to superstardom, and insists he'll get even better.
He and O'Neal will find plenty of new faces.
In the 13-player, five-team trade that sent Eddie Jones to Memphis, the Heat got point guard Jason Williams and forward James Posey and landed forward Antoine Walker from Boston. Later in the summer, free-agent point guard Gary Payton -- still seeking his first title -- signed a one-year deal and most likely will be Williams' backup. And Miami drafted Kansas forward Wayne Simien.
Most of the newcomers say they've never felt closer to a championship.
``Probably when I was 8 or 9, because I knew I was the best player in the league, but that's about the last time,'' said Williams, the flashy guard who spent three years in Sacramento and four in Memphis before coming to Miami. ``I always felt like we could win, because if I didn't feel we could win, what the use playing? But realistically, no, this is the first time.''
The team, of course, will be built around O'Neal and Wade. They combined for 42 percent of Miami's points last season and took 38 percent of the team's shots.
Walker and Payton will find themselves in subordinate roles for perhaps the first time. Payton hasn't been a backup since the 1992-93 season. Walker, a career average of 19.8, has been a reserve only 15 times since joining the league in 1996.
``When 'Toine and them came over, a lot of people said 'There's not going to be enough shots for Shaq and Dwyane.' We don't think about that,'' Wade said. ``We're just thinking about getting our chemistry together. It's a 48-minute game. There's shots for everybody.''
So far, that message seems to be getting through.
``We've got to understand the options on the team and the situation we're in, and to get the ball to people who can deliver at that time,'' said Walker, who's averaged 18.6 shots a game for his career.
The Heat also signed power forward Udonis Haslem -- who probably will contend with Walker for the starting job -- to a five-year deal worth more than $30 million. They lured back center Alonzo Mourning for another year and re-signed key reserve Shandon Anderson.
Much of training camp could resemble a glorified get-to-know-you session, with players trying to jell into a championship unit.
``All that stuff takes time, but unfortunately for us, because expectations are so high we've got to come out the gate ready to play,'' Walker said. ``So there's a lot of little things we've got figure out. But when in doubt, you just throw it to Shaq.''
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